When I saw that Sarah Alexander, a favorite from the brilliant series Coupling was heading up a new comedy project in the vein of Cougar Town, I couldn't wait to see it. Before I had a chance to see even a minute of the premiere, I was told to lower my expectations. That did not make me happy.
Here's what I think so far. I like Gemma. She got me in the first episode when she was attempting to put on a dress and said to her friend, "I'm confused." Not because I would ever attempt to put on a dress like that, but because I collect dolls and can't even manage to get the damn things onto artificial people let alone myself. Styles have come a long way since I was jamming myself into them!
Gemma's ex-husband, Jason, has somehow managed to score a super hot young girlfriend. He has the worst bangs (fringe) I've ever seen on a man. His lady friend reminds me of an older, stupider Phoebe Tonkin. That's just not right. Nothing he has accomplished through episode two has helped me to understand how he scored Gemma and had three children, let alone Inca.
Gemma has a suitor named Tom who, to put it politely, has odd attractions. On their first date he mentions her marmite mustaches (she could NEVER bleach her upper lip and not be considered to have even a mild shadow) and lovely teeth. What the hell? He seems to be the catch of the school yard, although Jason and Tom himself generally consider him a knob. If he didn't look so much like Ciaran Hinds he'd be insufferable, but that's his one saving grace.
Finally, Gemma's son arrived home from a trip abroad four months ahead of schedule bringing with him his buddy, Billy. Billy is played by none other than Robert Sheehan of Misfits fame. Once he left Misfits I left with him. He has that something. Something about him that refuses to allow you to avert your eyes. As he gently falls for Gemma, he is everything you would have wanted him to be in his most vulnerable Misfits moments as Nathan. Irresistible.
Bottom line? Not the best show, but as a woman over 40, the prospect of having a Billy in my life is more than enough to keep me tuning in. Shallow? Sure. But haven't there been enough shows about men in the same circumstances to alleviate my embarrassment?
Plus, I like that it isn't afraid to allow Gemma to be the "cougar" that Jules wasn't allowed to be in Cougar Town. All that fuss over a title. It's just sex. Men do it all the time. It's time a woman gets a choice, too. Whether she chooses the young man is beside the point. That the choice takes more than one episode is what's intriguing.
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